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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLN 05-22Report to Council Report Number: PLN 05-22 Date: January 24, 2022 From: Kyle Bentley Director, City Development & CBO Subject: Two-year Period Exemption Request for Minor Variance Application P/CA 34/22 Metropia (Notion Road) Development Inc. 1865 Pickering Parkway Recommendation: 1. That Council grants an exemption in accordance with Section 45 (1.4) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, P.13 as amended, and permits the Committee of Adjustment to consider Minor Variance Application P/CA 34/22, submitted by Metropia (Notion Road) Development Inc., for lands municipally known as 1865 Pickering Parkway, before the second anniversary of the day on which an applicant-initiated zoning by-law amendment was enacted for the subject lands. Executive Summary: This report recommends that Council adopt a resolution in accordance with Section 45 (1.4) of the Planning Act, as amended, permitting the Committee of Adjustment to consider Minor Variance Application P/CA 34/22, submitted by Metropia (Notion Road) Development Inc., owner of 1865 Pickering Parkway (see Location Map, Attachment #1). The site-specific Zoning By-law 7788/20, enacted by Council on October 26, 2020, requires porches, and associated stairs not exceeding 1.0 metre in height above established grade, to encroach a maximum of 0.5 of a metre outside of the building envelope. The applicant is requesting approval of a minor variance application, seeking to extend the encroachment limit for porches and associated stairs to a maximum of 1.0 metre outside the established building envelope for Blocks 2 and 3 only, as all other blocks comply (see Submitted Site Plan, Attachment #2). The requested variance is in keeping with the general intent and purpose of the Official Plan policies and Zoning By-law 3036, as amended by By-law 7788/20. The requested variance is minor in nature and desirable for the proposed development, which facilitates uncovered porch areas and pedestrian entry and exit for the townhouse units in Blocks 2 and 3, consisting of a total of 12 units. For these reasons, staff recommend that Council grant the requested exemption. Financial Implications: No direct financial implications are arising from Council’s adoption of the recommendation of this report. Report PLN 05-22 January 24, 2022 Subject: Metropia (Notion Road) Development Inc. Page 2 1. Discussion Bill 73, the Smart Growth for Our Communities Act, 2015, amended the Planning Act by removing the ability for an applicant to apply for a minor variance for 2 years following the passing of an applicant-initiated zoning by-law amendment. However, the Planning Act changes also permit a municipal Council to allow minor variance applications to proceed on a case-by-case basis by Council resolution. The Province indicated that the intent of the amendment is to prevent, for a 2 year period, zoning provisions that Council determines to be important from being reversed through the minor variance process. 2. Proposed Residential Development In January 2018, Metropia (Notion Road) Development Inc. (Metropia) submitted applications for Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment for the lands located at the southwest corner of Pickering Parkway and Notion Road within the Village East Neighbourhood (see Location Map, Attachment #1). The applicant proposed to develop the subject lands for a residential condominium development consisting of 130 townhouse units within 15 residential blocks, a 0.16 of a hectare private outdoor amenity area, 0.52 of a hectare open space/floodplain block and a re-created compensatory wetland on the adjacent lands immediately south of the open space/floodplain block (see Submitted Site Plan, Attachment #2). On October 26, 2020, Council enacted Zoning By-law 7788/20, which rezoned the subject lands from Mixed Use Specialty Retailing Node One – “MU-SRM-1” to Residential Horizontal – “RH”, Open Space – “OS” and Open Space Hazard Lands – “OS-HL” to facilitate the proposed residential condominium development (see Submitted Site Plan, Attachment #2). The applicant has submitted an application for Site Plan Approval, which is currently under review. 3. Minor Variance Application P/CA 34/22, Metropia (Notion Road) Development Inc. The site-specific zoning by-law requires porches, and associated stairs not exceeding 1.0 metre in height above the established grade, to encroach a maximum of 0.5 of a metre outside of the building envelope. The applicant is requesting approval of a minor variance application, seeking to extend the encroachment limit for porches and associated stairs to a maximum of 1.0 metre outside the established building envelope, for Blocks 2 and 3 only. All other blocks comply. The necessity for this minor variance application, despite a zoning by-law amendment having been passed for the same project within the last 2 years, is due to an administrative error in which the encroachment for proposed Blocks 2 and 3 was not accurately captured in the text of the approved by-law. Report PLN 05-22 January 24, 2022 Subject: Metropia (Notion Road) Development Inc. Page 3 No changes are proposed to the function of the proposed development as a result of this minor variance. As shown in Figure 1 below, the encroachment is intended to facilitate uncovered porches and stairs for the townhouse units within Blocks 2 and 3, consisting of a total of 12 units. The encroaching porches and stairs will maintain an approximate 2.0 metre setback from the property line along Pickering Parkway. Figure 1 – Encroaching porches and stairs for Blocks 2 and 3 The proposed variance is in keeping with the general intent and purpose of the City’s Official Plan and Zoning By-law, which is to permit primarily housing and related uses. Staff have reviewed the submitted plans and consider the 1.0 metre encroachment into the building envelope to be desirable for the appropriate development of the lands and minor in nature. 4. Conclusion It is recommended that Council grant an exemption in accordance with Section 45 (1.4) of the Planning Act and permit Minor Variance Application P/CA 34/22, submitted by Metropia (Notion Road) Development Inc., to be considered by the Committee of Adjustment resulting from the further processing of the site plan or building permit applications. Attachments: 1. Location Map 2. Submitted Site Plan Report PLN 05-22 January 24, 2022 Subject: Metropia (Notion Road) Development Inc. Page 4 Prepared By: Original Signed By Felix Chau Planner II Original Signed By Nilesh Surti, MCIP, RPP Manager, Development Review & Urban Design Approved/Endorsed By: Original Signed By Catherine Rose, MCIP, RPP Chief Planner Original Signed By Kyle Bentley, P. Eng. Director, City Development & CBO FC:ld Recommended for the consideration of Pickering City Council Original Signed By Marisa Carpino, M.A. Chief Administrative Officer Attachment #1 to Report #PLN 05-22 Highway 401 N o t i o n R o a d B eec hlawn D r i v e Ma r s h c o u r t D r i v e Sq u i r e s B e a c h R o a d Pickering Parkway Tribro St udios A venue Lark s mere Court F a i r f i e l dCrescent A s h f o r d D r i v e BeechlawnPark Location MapFile:Applicant:Municipal Address: P/CA 34/22 Date: Dec. 20, 2021 Metropia (Notion Road) Development Inc.1865 Pickering Parkway SubjectLands L:\PLANNING\01-MapFiles\PCA\2022\PCA 34-22 Metropia (Notion Road) Development Inc\PCA34-22_LocationMap.mxd 1:4,000 SCALE: THIS IS NOT A PLAN OF SURVEY. © The Corporation of the City of Pickering Produced (in part) under license from: © Queens Printer, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. All rights reserved.; © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, Departmentof Natural Resources. All rights reserved.; © Teranet Enterprises Inc. and its suppliers. All rights reserved.; © Municipal PropertyAssessment Corporation and its suppliers. All rights reserved. City DevelopmentDepartment C i t y o f P i c k e r i n g T o w n o f A j a x Attachment #2 to Report #PLN 05-22 Submitted Site Plan File No: P/CA 34/22 Applicant: Metropia (Notion Road) Development Inc. Municipal Address: 1865 Pickering Parkway CONTACT THE CITY OF PICKERING CITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT FOR DIGITAL COPIES OF THIS PLAN.Date: January 4, 2022 to permit porches and stairs not exceeding 1.0 metre in height above established grade to encroach a maximum of 1.0 metre outside the established building envelope